The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of evergreen azalea of the genus Rhododendron and a member of the Ericaceae family. This new variety of azalea plant is the result of a breeding program. The principal objectives of this breeding program were to produce new varieties of evergreen azaleas which are floriferous, compact, vigorous, and easy to propagate using vegetative cuttings.
The specific parentage of the new variety is unknown because no records were kept of the crosses which resulted in the new plant. The breeding program incorporated the use of forty seven varieties of evergreen azalea from seven hybrid groups that were grown at Mossholder Nurseries in La Habra, Calif.
______________________________________ Hybrid Groups Used in the Breeding Program # of Cultivars ______________________________________ Belgian Indian Hybrids 25 Coolidge Hybrids 3 Mossholder-Bristow Hybrids 11 Pericat Hybrids 2 Rutherford Hybrids 2 Southern Indian Hybrids 1 Kurume Hybrids 3 ______________________________________
`Jessica Dawn` most closely resembles the Mossholder-Bristow and the Belgian Indian Hybrid groups.
This new hybrid has the following combination of characteristics which distinguish it from other varieties.
1. Flower size, color, form and season of bloom: The large 7.6 to 8.9 cm blooms are double and marbled with four shades of pink. Petal margins are ruffled. Blooms mid-season (early March-April). PA0 2. Plant form and vigor: The plant is compact, horizontally spreading and very vigorous. PA0 3. Ease of vegatative propagation by softwood cuttings: The new hybrid has been asexually reproduced thousands of times by rooting cuttings at Hines Nursery in Irvine, Calif. Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics of the mother plant, establishing the hybrid as reproducible and true to type.